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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask for your most ingenious money saving tips

954 replies

Toothiehurtie · 28/08/2022 20:51

my Best one is…

a visit to the card factory for cheap cards and gift bags and then picking up presents from car boot sales or charity shops. I have got some brilliant kids party presents for 50p so with the card and a cheap gift bag I have brought the cost of a present in for a pound before.

looking for any tips at all, obviously you can buy porridge oats in bulk cheaper than buying expensive kids cereal etc but anything clever or that people might not have thought of before.

don’t know how bad the fuel crisis will be but considering charging battery packs to charge phones at work and taking a thermos of boiled water home 😂

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
JudgeRindersMinder · 30/08/2022 09:01

BrownTableMat · 30/08/2022 07:58

Ha! My mum did this too. Being forced as a teenager to clean the bathroom using my dad’s old y-fronts should probably have put me in therapy for life

Show quote history

Another 70s dad’s old y fronts as cleaning cloths survivor here!😂😂

johnworf · 30/08/2022 09:07

PuzzyGalore we also used old clothing as dusters. See underwear, baby vests, old babygros and I recall once using a wig that barristers wear being used in our house as a polishing rag although I had no idea what it was at the time or where it came from!

Zumatalaa · 30/08/2022 09:11

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Trying to save the planet?

With 4 kids I would say that ship has sailed.

MrsLargeEmbodied · 30/08/2022 09:16

how much dusting do you all do that you need to use your old clothes?
PuzzyGalore we also used old clothing as dusters. See underwear, baby vests, old babygros
they can go to the textiles bin and someone sells them to someone

MrsLargeEmbodied · 30/08/2022 09:17

as a child/teen living at home, i remember i had to clean the bath with cold water, dm most insistent

Zumatalaa · 30/08/2022 09:18

PuzzyGalore · 29/08/2022 17:49

Many years ago remember reading the following in one of those magazines that pay £5 for canny tips.

When your rubber gloves get too old to use, cut them up so that you have a good supply of rubber bands.

Fill your boots MumsNetters

😁

BrightYellowDaffodil · 30/08/2022 09:39

Qik · 30/08/2022 07:53

Save up all the cut off crusts from sandwiches. Pop them in the freezer for a few weeks. These are them useful to press into the gap between the door and the doorframe over Winter. When we get harsh winds once more, like the Beast from the East, the bread will provide an effective insulation against drafts. When the weather improves, pop the crusts back in the freezer until next time or shred them up to make a nice crumble topping.

Either that’s some very deadpan satire or someone is genuinely advocating a) stuffing window frames full of bread (obviously having wasted the crusts by not eating them) then b) freezing them in order to reuse them or c) eating them after they’ve been sat in a cold and possibly damp window frame.

Yum.

queenofarles · 30/08/2022 09:40

in all my time on MN , exactly 11 years , this has to be the strangest thread Ive ever read . The amount of unhygienic cleaning and housekeep practiced by some is astonishing. Even people in poorer nations use clean water and cheap basic all purpose soap for washing clothes and cleaning their modest houses.

ReneBumsWombats · 30/08/2022 09:42

BrightYellowDaffodil · 30/08/2022 09:39

Either that’s some very deadpan satire or someone is genuinely advocating a) stuffing window frames full of bread (obviously having wasted the crusts by not eating them) then b) freezing them in order to reuse them or c) eating them after they’ve been sat in a cold and possibly damp window frame.

Yum.

Show quote history

It's a joke.

Endlesslypatient82 · 30/08/2022 09:53

queenofarles · 30/08/2022 09:40

in all my time on MN , exactly 11 years , this has to be the strangest thread Ive ever read . The amount of unhygienic cleaning and housekeep practiced by some is astonishing. Even people in poorer nations use clean water and cheap basic all purpose soap for washing clothes and cleaning their modest houses.

It is the grossest one I have come across (and in a way - also quite disturbing to think children are having to endure their parents forbidding them from flushing the loo)

but I have seen much stranger on the royal threads. Some of those are just batty

NannyGythaOgg · 30/08/2022 10:56

I bought one of these from Amazon
PWPAM DIY Electrolytic Sodium Hypochlorite Generator. I now make my own steriliser/bleach - it's pretty much the same as Milton, rather than the thick bleach but a spray bottle of water and a teaspoon of salt, put this usb powered unit in for 10 minutes and you have a bottle of steriliser.

I also got a flow reducer for my shower free from my water company (Yorkshire Water but I think they all do something similar). Still plenty of water coming through but saves about 10% I think. That's 10% less water and 10% less gas used to heat it. You can buy them from Amazon quite cheaply if your water company doesn't send them free and there are different reduction strengths. Could be particularly useful if you have a person in your house that enjoys 30 minute showers.

RedToothBrush · 30/08/2022 11:52

Thegroaninggurner · 29/08/2022 14:38

I don't use my tumble dryer unless it's an emergency. I use Martin Lewis Mse site and Hot UK deals. I only put enough water in the kettle for the cup of tea I'm making.. I use Top cashback when buying things especially car insurance and switching utilities. If I get mail saying my bills are going up I phone company's and get them to reduce prices or move to another supplier. I use Hot UK deals all year round for bargains for Christmas. I use Costco for petrol currently £1.56. I use UK breakaways and comparison sites for holidays there's also another site I use can't remember the name of it so get Haven breaks for a fraction of the price. Lots of bargain pages where you can get pHs for the kids for around £3 t shirts same price. Also use everything £5 for clothes for myself, the list is endless oh and I have started using the company shop who's prices are ace as well as home bargains.

DH is the only hot drink person in the house.

We switched to a one cup instead of a full kettle when the last one gave up the ghost.

Thats made a big difference.

Swizzel · 30/08/2022 13:39

I see this thread has found its way to the Daily Fail

PuzzyGalore · 30/08/2022 13:46

BrownTableMat · 30/08/2022 08:07

I assure you they were still entirely recognisable. I guess with a garment that small It’s hard to cut them up enough that they wouldn’t be!

Show quote history

Same. Very recognisably Y-fronts. Those ones that looked like they were made from string vest material.

Maybe we should have a therapy group in MN. Y-fronts Anonymous?

Trying20 · 30/08/2022 13:49

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This post has been withdrawn by the OP

SlowingDownAndDown · 30/08/2022 13:51

A bit of an aside, but do a lot of women go to the gym and not use the shower, in which case you could say they are subsidising people who do (men nearly always do, don’t they?) Or is it that they do use the showers but they profligately shower at home as well, in which case cutting down on additional showers at home wouldn’t cost the gym anything.
Just wondering, my experience was women hardly ever showered at the tennis club.

Ourlady · 30/08/2022 13:55

This reply has been deleted

This post has been withdrawn by the OP

😂😂

yogz1976 · 30/08/2022 13:55

You can drastically cut cooking time of rice and pasta by soaking it for a few hours in cold water. You only need to heat it up for a few minutes and it's ready to eat. Saves money and time!

PuzzyGalore · 30/08/2022 13:58

There used to be a woman lived locally to me who saved the nets fruit such as satsumas came in and used them as hair snoods

PuzzyGalore · 30/08/2022 14:01

QueenWatevraWaNabi · 30/08/2022 07:55

Anyway, don't hand anything into lost property you find in future. Scarves, umbrellas, bobble hats. Even single gloves, wear one and keep other hand in your pocket

This isn't channelling Caryn Franklin. This is just depressing.

Er, I was joking. Caryn Franklin used to be awesome on The Clothes Show. I admired her greatly and how stylish she used to look.

Retrievemysanity · 30/08/2022 14:06

Dry shampoo spray. You can get it cheaply in home bargains and it lasts ages. We all get away with only washing our hair once a week thanks to this so it saves shower time.

Swizzel · 30/08/2022 14:08

This reply has been deleted

This post has been withdrawn by the OP

😂😂😂

PurplePosies · 30/08/2022 14:39

Housekeep practice 😂

Glad to see I've brought back memories of cleaning with old pants ha ha!

On the outdoor box 'fridge' it means that we can buy the bigger, better value packs of veg etc. and they stay fresh. We have quite a small fridge so it's good to use this during the winter - the caveat being that we're in Scotland, it might be less effective in Cornwall!

Aria999 · 30/08/2022 14:42

@BrightYellowDaffodil

I wasn't scaremongering. I think rationing would be a good thing. Better than poorer people having energy bills that eat their whole paycheck while wealthier people use what they want.

No specific evidence to offer you, it's just a logical eventual consequence if there isn't enough to go around.

QueenWatevraWaNabi · 30/08/2022 15:12

PuzzyGalore · 30/08/2022 14:01

Er, I was joking. Caryn Franklin used to be awesome on The Clothes Show. I admired her greatly and how stylish she used to look.

Show quote history

Pahahahaha!! It just shows how bonkers this thread is that I thought you were serious 🤦‍♀️😆